On the last thursday of November, American families get together to celebrate Thanksgiving.
In the US, Thanksgiving officially kicks off the holiday season - and actually, more people in the US celebrate Thanksgiving than they do Christmas. Since this holiday is a tradition of the country and has nothing to do with religion, Thanksgiving is a day that every American can celebrate.
History of Thanksgiving
The origins of Thanksgiving date back to 1621.
As the pilgrims from England were adjusting to their new life, their harvest of the year before had failed and half of the population died due to famine.
Luckily, the local Wampanoag tribe taught the pilgrims how to grow corn, beans and squash as well as catch fish and other seafood.
Thanks to their help, the pilgrims managed to achieve a particularly rich harvest one year later, in 1621.
To show their gratitude, they invited the Wampanoag tribe to a 3-day feast with goose, lobster, cod, dear, and other delicacies.
The classic turkey actually wasn't a part of the meal back then - there are several rumours about how turkey actually became a traditional Thanksgiving food.
Some say this was due to a turkey hunt before the dinner in 1621, others say Queen Elizabeth I started this tradition, or the turkey might have been added to the menu because there are countless wild turkeys in North America.
For the next few decades, Thanksgiving was mostly known and celebrated in New England, but not in southern parts of the US. Every state was celebrating their own harvest festivals at different times during autumn.
It wasn't until 1863 when president Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving an official national holiday on the last thursday of each november.
Thanksgiving traditions
Pardoning the Thanksgiving turkey
Every year, the president of the United States pardons 2 turkeys and spares their lives.
Each Thanksgiving, the white house would be gifted with several turkeys during Thanksgiving - which were generally eaten, of course.
In 1987, Ronald Reagan was the first president to spare the turkey's lives - and his successor George HW Bush made the pardoning ceremony into an official tradition ever since then.
80 turkeys are randomly chosen as candidates for the pardoning.
The two largest and best-behaved birds are then pardoned by the president, and continue to live their lives at Morven Park in Virginia.
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The annual parade of Macy's department store in New York City has also become a tradition on Thanksgiving and is being broadcasted globally on TV during Thanksgiving morning.
The parade features giant balloons and statues, floats, marching bands, cheerleaders and more.
It all started in the 1920s when many of the Macy's employees were immigrants, and wanted to celebrate the American holiday with a kind of parade that they knew from their home in Europe.
Home for the holidays
As mentioned above, Thanksgiving is even more important than Christmas to some Americans.
No wonder that Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel days in the whole year - everyone is taking flights, trains or buses to get back home over the Thanksgiving weekend.
An estimated 25 million people will be traveling cross-country and worldwide during these few days.
But for anyone who isn't able to visit their family on Thanksgiving: the concept of "Friendsgiving", celebrating with close friends instead of family, has also become quite popular.
Thanksgiving in modern times
The world and society have changed drastically since the first Thanksgiving dinner 400 years ago.
For one, the eating habits have also changed quite a bit - many households will be having a vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free or gluten-free Thanksgiving.
In times of Instagram and Snapchat, Thanksgiving has also become much more about sharing your family experience online - and of course, making your food "instagrammable" is part of that.
Many people are actually criticizing Thanksgiving and its origins now - the legend of the first Thanksgiving may be a lie and the holiday as we know it has become a tool for consumerism.
And it's true - Thanksgiving has turned from a holiday of gratitude to a global consumerism phenomenon with "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday".
Most stores are offering the biggest discounts of the year during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Even in Europe, which has nothing to do with traditional Thanksgiving, stores have started bringing out Black Friday deals every year.
In the US, black friday might just be the most profitable day for the economy, with over 100 million people going shopping that day.
And people really take their black friday deals seriously - there is countless video footage on youtube showing people running, fighting and hurting others in order to be first in line or get a selected discount product.
This is quite the contrast to the original meaning of this holiday - being thankful, helping each other, and being a supportive community.
GRATITUDE
But this one key factor of Thanksgiving remains: GRATITUDE.
In times like these, gratitude is actually more important than ever.
On Thanksgiving day, people are reminded to think about what they're grateful for - but actually, Gratitude is something that we should practice every day and not only once a year.
Embracing Gratitude in your daily life can have a huge impact on your mood, surroundings, and overall well-being.
Gratitude makes you feel grounded, it reminds you to appreciate the little things in life!
At the same time, knowing how blessed you are also makes you cope better with stress and small issues that we would normally get annoyed over.
I am beyond grateful for the countless blessings in my life.
What are you most grateful for this Thanksgiving ?
© Sirwinchester